


Of Teaching & Yearning

by minchanted



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 2min besties, Angst, Bang Chan is Bad at Feelings, Bang Chan is a Good Hyung, Bottom Bang Chan, Chan is difficult here, Chan please accept Minho already, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Jealousy, Kissing in the Rain, Lee Minho | Lee Know is Whipped, M/M, Oblivious Bang Chan, Pining, Slow Burn, Teacher Minho, Top Lee Minho | Lee Know, baby lixie, basically minho teaches and minho yearns, chanlix brothers, chanlix wholesome brothers, felix is 6 years old here, happy birthday channie, happy minchan month, he deserves the best, hyunchan besties, minchan, minchan soulmates, minchantober, minho is a sweetheart, minho is older than chan here, side seungbin, smut is like in the second chapter and you can skip it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:29:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 21,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26736637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minchanted/pseuds/minchanted
Summary: Minho did not expect his new teaching job to be anything out of ordinary, but that was until a cute man who called himself Chan, kept arriving late to pick his little brother Felix, up from class.aka an au where Minho is totally whipped for Chan but Chan is way too oblivious and whose life revolves around Felix, his 6 year old brother.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 53
Kudos: 393





	1. Chapter 1

Minho waited on his seat patiently, for the last parent to come and pick up their child. He watched as the six-year-old Felix played with the toy blocks on the floor. This was Minho’s first day of teaching, and he enjoyed it, he loved working with kids and the children in his class were all gems, but he really wished whoever the parent was would hurry up so that he could go back to the comfort of his house, soak his feet in warm water with a hot cup of tea in his hands. It had been an exhausting first day. The clock kept ticking as the seconds passed by and an hour must have passed when he heard hurried footsteps outside the class.

A young man who looked way too young to be the father of a six-year-old barged into the room, his black hair was all tousled and his shirt was untucked, his backpack hanging loosely over his shoulder.

“Lixie!” The man exclaimed and Minho watched as Felix got up and ran into the man’s arms.

“Hyung!” Felix chirped happily.

 _Oh,_ so he was not a parent. It was none of Minho’s business, but he had to say something, so he cleared his throat, getting the attention of the man.

The man turned around, with Felix in his arms, looking at him in confusion. “Oh, are you new?”

The first thought that came into Minho’s mind was _god the man was cute, and charming,_ and he tried to keep his expression neutral as he nodded his head slowly, getting up from his chair and throwing out a hand for the other man to shake.

“I am Mr. Lee Minho. I teach your brother… and class ended an hour back.” Minho said, and he tried to keep his voice as polite as possible, but he saw the man wince at it and Minho was now feeling guilty.

“Sorry…I was running late at work.” The man said apologetically, and Minho noticed that he looked really tired, dark circles prominent under his eyes, and he looked like he hadn’t had a good sleep in days.

“It is okay.” Minho shrugged, “Felix here is really well behaved.”

The man smiled at him, bouncing Felix in his arms, “Yeah, he is an angel.”

Minho noticed the man had dimples, that stood out prominently when he smiled, and he was shocked when he felt his stomach flip.

“Thank you for looking after him.” The man said, as he turned around to leave.

“Wait.” Minho called out before he could stop himself.

The man looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“What is your name?” Minho asked.

The man smiled softly before answering.

“Chan.”

When Minho was finally home, and sipping on his hot cup of tea, he found that his mind wouldn’t stop thinking about a man called Chan.

The next day, Minho stared into his reflection, adjusting the headband on his head. His hair was growing way too long, but he was too lazy to get it cut and the school didn’t mind it anyways so he didn’t bother.

The second day was more exhausting than the first. Two kids collided against each other and were wailing, and Minho had to soothe them by carrying them and throwing them up lightly in the air. It did the trick and stopped them from crying. The only problem was that all the other kids started clustering around him, wanting Minho to carry them and throw them up too and that was how Minho ended up slumped over his chair, his muscles straining after carrying twenty kids in the class.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t go back home because Felix was still here.

“When is your hyung coming?” Minho asked the little boy who gave him an incredulous look as if to say how he was supposed to know.

Minho sighed as he stared up the clock, then outside the window where the sky was turning purple. He heard running steps outside and once again Chan burst through the open door, apologizing fervently as he hurried over to his brother and picked him up.

“Is this going to be an everyday thing?” Minho asked, and maybe it was because his arms were _really_ hurting but his voice was a bit cold and the man picked up on it.

“I am really sorry.” Chan apologised, turning back, and to Minho’s shock he saw that tears had accumulated in the man’s eyes. Chan was dressed in a black tee and jeans and once again he looked really tired and _sad_. Minho didn’t know what to say or comfort as he just stared at him helplessly. At that moment, Minho felt something change, a painful tugging at his heart and a yearning to take care of the man.

“Where are your parents?” Minho asked finally and realized it was a bad idea as the sorrow intensified in Chan’s eyes.

“They are away on business. I don’t know when they will be back.” Chan mumbled softly and Minho knew he was lying especially when Felix spoke up, “But I heard you tell Hyunjin hyung that they were never going to come back.”

An awkward silence filled the room as Chan looked at Felix in horror. Chan glanced over at Minho quickly, before he left the room in a hurry. Minho called out after him, but the other man walked away, ignoring his calls.

The next day Chan was only ten minutes late, and Minho watched as the man walked over to his brother with a blinding smile on his face, ruffling up Felix’s hair before thanking Minho quickly and leaving the room. This continued for a few days until one day, Minho decided to initiate a conversation. Minho also noticed Felix had a habit of sitting by himself, often having a hard time interacting with others and he felt that it could be due to the absence of his parents.

When Chan entered the class and walked over to Felix, Minho called out to Chan, getting his attention.

“Could I talk to you for 5 minutes? In private?”

Chan looked confused but he nodded his head, guiding Felix to the corner to draw on some papers while he followed Minho to the front of the classroom, taking a seat opposite him.

“Do you have time for Felix back at home?” Minho asked.

Chan looked up at him incredulously, “What do you mean?”

Minho realized how that might have come off and tried to backtrack.

“I mean…I know it is none of my business but if you really don’t have your parents…I am assuming it is you doing all the jobs and taking care and I can understand if you don’t have time to actually spend time with your brother.”

“I do spend time with him, he is my whole life.” Chan said, and his voice was devoid of any emotions.

“I mean… you look distressed and I can’t imagine how stressful it might be to take care of a child.”

“Are you implying that I don’t take care of him or something? Just because I am always late to pick him up?” Chan snapped at him.

“That was not what I meant…” Minho said calmly. “Why are you late?”

“My work sometimes runs late.” Chan answered coldly.

Minho paused, thinking about something his principal had told him before. “You know, maybe I could help you get you into a really great social work team for a little extra support?”

Chan’s eyes darkened; his lips pressed tightly as he stared at Minho.

“You were right, _Mr. Lee_. This was none of your business.” Chan said, his tone clipped, and he got up from his seat, heading towards Felix and carrying him up in his arms, before leaving the class.

The next day, Chan didn’t come in to pick up Felix, but in his place, a man with long blonde hair walked in, introducing himself as Hyunjin, a name Minho recognized as Felix had mentioned it before. Minho watched with narrow eyes as Felix ran into Hyunjin’s arm with a bright smile plastered on his face.

“May I know who you are?” Minho asked, his tone cold.

“Oh, I am here to pick Felix up, under Chan’s request.” The man answered politely.

“I am sorry, but I can’t let you pick up without any proof indicating that you are either related to the child or a friend of the parents or guardian.” Minho stated.

Hyunjin stared at him before picking his phone out dialing in a number.

“Hey, Channie. The teacher here said I need to show some proof that I am related to Felix or I am a friend of yours.” 

Minho watched as the man smirked at something Chan was probably telling on the phone. The man lowered his phone down and looked at Minho as he said, “He asked if a selfie of us two together would be proof enough.”

Minho nodded and Hyunjin relayed the message to Chan before cutting the call and scrolling through his phone. Hyunjin stopped, before walking over to Minho and showing him his phone. Minho felt his heart stop as he looked at the screen which was now displaying a selfie of Hyunjin and Chan with Hyunjin staring up at the camera and Chan kissing his cheek. They both looked so comfortable and had big smiles on their faces and Minho felt like he was intruding into something personal. He looked away before muttering, “Okay, you can go.”

Hyunjin held onto the kid’s hand and walked out of the doors, promising the kid that he would buy him ice cream but only if he promised to not tell _Channie_ hyung.

Minho wondered if they were really dating. Not that he cared of course. However, his stomach stirred with an emotion he didn’t recognize. He tried to shake the feeling away, it was not possible for someone to get feelings for a person he hardly even met, right?

Of course, Minho, for a change, enjoyed going back home earlier but he found himself missing the other man. So, when Hyunjin walked in for the third day in a row, Minho decided to ask.

“What happened to Chan?”

Hyunjin looked up in surprise, their gaze meeting, “He is busy, so I would be picking Felix up for now…” Hyunjin trailed off before adding in cheekily, “Don’t worry, he is spending time with his brother, more now than ever.”

Minho felt the guilt wash over him again, knowing very well that Chan was probably mad at him and just avoiding him. He sighed as he watched the man walk out with Felix once again.

Minho hated school festivals, they were noisy and crowded and he had to talk to a lot of parents. He loved kids, that was true, but he hated adults, especially since they would eye his headband and overgrown hair with judging eyes and would question his credibility as a teacher. However, Minho loved this school festival, mainly because he finally got to see Chan again.

Minho wasn’t being creepy he swore, as his eyes were fixated on the dark-haired man, whose attention was rapt on Felix who was now performing with his class on the stage. They were all singing the song Minho had taught them, but he couldn’t spare them a glance as his full focus was on Chan. The way his eyes formed crescents when he smiled, the way his dimples would hollow into his cheeks, the way his dark curls framed his face. He noticed how Chan would hop up and down on his feet, cheering out loud whenever it was Felix’s part. After the festival was done, the families went over to find their kids, and were conversing with the teachers. Minho tried to avoid them all as he squeezed through the crowds, trying to find a specific man.

He finally spotted Chan by the exit, crouching down next to Felix, patting his head, and whispering something to him. Minho quickened his pace, hurrying over to Chan and stopping once he was near him.

Chan looked up to see who it was and stilled when he realized it was him.

“Okay time to leave Lixie.” Chan said, as he got up quickly and headed to the door.

“Chan, _please_.” Minho said before he could stop himself and maybe there was a hinge of desperation in his tone, but Chan stopped, turning to face him slowly.

Minho’s eyes wandered over to Felix who was waving at him cutely and back at Chan who was staring at him with his eyebrow raised and once again, Minho’s mind filter was not functioning properly as he took a deep breath and said, “Do you want to grab a coffee?”

"No." Chan said before trying to drag Felix away.

"Nooo." Felix whined, as he held onto Minho's leg, "I want to go with Mr. Lee!"

Chan looked up at Minho, surprised and confused while Minho shrugged at him, feeling warm as he patted Felix's back gently.

Minho watched as the other man pondered over it, before finally coming to a decision.

“Okay, fine.”

Minho felt his lips turn up in a bright smile, feeling happy again.

Chan followed Minho outside, to the parking lot where Minho had parked his car.

“How do you usually go home?” Minho asked the man as he opened up the back seat for Chan and Felix to get in.

“Well, we take the bus, our place is just a few stops away.” Chan said.

“What is your job?” Minho asked again, as he pulled the car out of the parking lot.

“I work as a secretary in a company. It is pretty chill but sometimes the meetings run late, and I have to stay back.” Chan explained softly, looking out the window.

Minho observed Chan through the rear-view window grasping why the man was always so tired. He barely had any time for himself, and whatever time he had, he spent it on Felix. Minho felt his heart reach out to Chan, a sudden overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect him creeping over him.

“Thank you for being a good teacher to Lixie.” Chan said.

“It is my job and he is an angel like you said.” Minho shrugged as he drove along the road.

“Yeah, but Felix really loves you, he said you were his favorite. Wasn’t that right Lixie?” Chan asked, looking over at his brother who was now really shy, hiding his face in his hands. “See?” Chan hummed, smiling up at Minho through the window. Minho felt his heart soar and warmth gushing into his soul.

He finally managed to pull up beside a café that looked really extravagant and Chan was hesitant at first, telling Minho he can’t afford it but Minho insisted, and that it was on him, his treat as he had been too insensitive back then.

Chan sighed, when he realized Minho was not going to give up and followed him into the café.

Once they were done ordering, they started talking. Felix was seated next to Minho and he felt himself getting more and more attached to the little guy. Playing with him and teasing him, and he would notice Chan looking at them both endearingly.

“Felix doesn’t really get so close to people this fast.” Chan said, a smile playing on his lips.

“I am very likeable.” Minho chuckled, as gently ruffled Felix’s hair.

“I can see that.” Chan hummed as he looked away.

Minho tried to ignore the drumming of his heartbeat against his chest, but it was getting louder and louder.

“Was today your off day?” Minho asked, as he stirred his americano with a straw.

“Yeah…I can’t miss out on Lixie’s performance now, can I?”

Minho nodded his head, taking a sip from his drink and burst out into laughter when Felix got cake all over his face. He took a napkin and gently wiped the cream away, taking the spoon from him and feeding him instead. He could feel Chan’s eyes on him again, watching their interactions.

Once they were done, Minho paid the bill and started driving off to Chan’s place. Through the journey, he played all the kid’s songs that Felix wanted to listen to on his phone, and chuckled as he watched the kid bounce up and down on his seat.

Once Minho pulled up at Chan’s apartment, Minho got out and opened the door, helping Felix to hop down from the car.

Chan got out, and walked over to Minho, “How can I ever repay you for this treat and the drive?” He asked.

“Well…maybe you could start by coming back to class to pick Felix up instead of your friend?” Minho suggested, grinning sheepishly at him.

Chan looked at him in shock before bursting out into laughter, the sound tinkling in the air and Minho could feel the butterflies fluttering their wings in his stomach.

“Sure, Mr. Lee.” Chan smiled.

“Oh and please call me Minho instead.” Minho said.

Chan stared at him warmly, his smile widening. “Get home safe, _Minho_.” He said as he held onto Felix’s hand and started heading towards the door.

Minho leaned against his car, staring after the two brothers until they got into the elevator, the doors closing as Felix waved at him one more time. He let out a deep breath he had been holding, and realized with a sinking heart, that he might or might not be whipped for that man.

* * *

The next few days passed by smoothly, with Chan dropping in on time almost all the days, picking up Felix and leaving with a smile and a goodbye. Minho wished they could speak longer but Chan would always be in a hurry.

Once, Chan was running late and Minho waited patiently as he played along with Felix. He heard some noise outside and a hushed speaking voice, and went out to check on it. As he neared the door, he could hear the voice more clearly and stopped when he realised it was Chan.

“Listen, I have been working for you for so many years, but now I have a brother to pick up and take care of and I can’t keep asking my friends to help me.”

Chan paused and Minho assumed he was listening to whoever was on the other line.

“I am already late almost everyday to pick him up, can’t you understand? I will come into work earlier instead.”

Another pause before Chan exhaled slowly, ruffling his hair up in annoyance, “Okay, just reduce my lunch break then. Thank you.”

Chan cut the call and turned around to enter the class, getting startled when he realised Minho was standing there.

“Oh, sorry for being late again.” Chan sighed, before walking into the class.

“You know you can take your time right? I am more than willing to take care of Felix until you get here.” Minho offered politely.

Chan frowned at him before replying back, “I don’t need you to do me any favours, Minho.”

Minho was speechless, he realised that Chan was a bit sensitive when it came to taking care of Felix and was someone who was not comfortable with getting help from the others so he tried to not let it get to him much. 

Chan probably realised it was a little mean because the next day he entered with a bag of cookies and a cup of hot coffee, handing them over to Minho shyly who watched him with amused eyes. Chan then muttered a hurried goodbye, his cheeks flushed, grabbing Felix’s hand and walking out. 

It became a routine for Minho to buy snacks from the cafeteria and pass it along to Chan whenever the man walked in. Chan, of course, rejected at first but when Minho kept on insisting, Chan knew he had no other choice and accepted them with a smile.

Minho also started offering Chan a ride home as the man would always look fatigued, but Chan would decline, saying that he preferred travelling in buses which Minho knew was a blatant lie. It was getting hard to ignore the way his stomach would flutter every time Chan smiled at him or thanked him. It was disgusting, really. 

"So who is the guy who taught you how to smile?" Seungmin asked during their lunch period. Seungmin taught the class next to his and somehow, they became good friends, and would always sit next to each other during lunch.

"Seungmin… what?" 

"All these days, you never smiled even once but now I see you often zoning out with a stupid grin on your face, it's worrying." Seungmin explained. 

“You should really be paying attention to your kids, instead of me.” Minho muttered, picking at his food with his chopsticks, imagining how it would feel to poke Seungmin in the eyes with a chopstick.

“Who is the unlucky person?” Seungmin asked again, nudging Minho in the ribs.

Minho sighed before answering, “Seungmin, please behave like an adult, thank you.”

Seungmin laughed, “Okay, stay in denial.”

Minho found his mind wandering off to Chan again, wondering what the man was doing right now. Imagining him hard at work, chewing on his bottom lip nervously, a trait that Minho realised Chan had. He thought about the man’s dimples, and the way his smile would light up any room, and how despite all he had gone through, he would always still have that beautiful smile.

“You are doing it again.” Seungmin said, putting an abrupt end to his daydream.

“What?”

“The part where you zone away, smiling like a fool.” Seungmin sniggered.

Minho got up from the table, smacking the back of Seungmin’s head before picking up his tray and heading over to the trash.

Chan walked in the next day right on time to pick Felix up. As the crowd of parents slowly faded away, Minho walked over to Chan, who was kneeling on the floor, talking to his brother and Minho tried to muster up his guts.

“Hey, I know you keep rejecting my offers to drive you home, so how about we grab dinner instead? With Felix of course.” Minho said, his heart thudding uncomfortably against his chest.

“Minho….” Chan trailed off with a sigh as he got back up on his feet. “Why are you being so insistent on helping me?”

This caught Minho off guard. He really was not ready to answer a question like this as he had no answer to it. Why did he want to help the man in front of him?

Chan continued when he realised Minho was not going to answer back, “We don’t need your pity.” He mumbled before walking past him and it took Minho a moment to register what he had said.

Minho never really believed he was capable of having feelings for someone. Seungmin was in a relationship with a man called Changbin and Minho would often hear the phone calls they would have during lunch, where Seungmin would be gushing over him or being sappy and it made Minho cringe and tease Seungmin. But he knew he was wading into dangerous waters with Chan.

One day, it was raining really hard outside and Chan had staggered in, drenched to the bone, his white shirt sticking to his body, water dripping from the dark strands of his hair, looking exhausted and sniffling.

“Are you okay?” Minho asked him worriedly.

He saw Chan stiffened, as he turned around slowly.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Chan stuttered, and Minho could see the man trembling from the cold.

“I have an extra set of clothes in my locker, wait I will get them for you.” Minho said as he got up from the seat.

“No, really it is fine, we are a few stops away, and Hyunjin works close by, I can just get something from him..” Chan said in a hurry.

“Chan…jesus just let me help you okay? I am not pitying you…They are just clothes.” Minho insisted, licking his lips, uncertain how Chan would perceive his words. After a few seconds, Chan finally agreed, sighing in defeat.

Felix hurried over to Minho, holding onto his hand as the teacher led the way to the lockers, making Minho smile down at the boy.

As they reached his locker, he opened the door and took out the extra set of clothes he always had in handy in case a student decided to throw up on him and handed them over to Chan along with a towel.

“The washroom is over there.” He said, pointing over in a direction. Chan smiled up at him hesitantly before heading over.

Minho lifted Felix and sat him on the bench before sitting next to him.

“Your brother really doesn’t like anyone helping him huh.” Minho sighed.

Felix looked at him, his little face scrunched up in confusion.

“Why is he like this?” Minho asked, not really expecting a reply back.

"Hyung doesn't like anyone except me." Felix chirped up as he continued to play with the toy in his hands. “And Hyunjin hyung. And Jisung and Jeongin hyungs.”

His heart dropped when he heard Hyunjin’s name and assumed the other two were also part of Chan’s friends group. What Felix said was not supposed to hurt him. It did though.

Chan stepped out from the washroom at that moment, towel around his neck, and seeing Chan in his clothes made Minho’s body combust into flames. The full sleeved shirt was a bit too loose for Chan, falling past his wrists and the pants were a little baggy around his slim waist. Chan hugged himself awkwardly, his hands holding on to his wet soaking clothes, mumbling out a thanks as Minho passed him a bag to put the wet clothes in.

Before Minho could stop himself, he took a step forward, closing the distance between them and reached out and took the towel, drying Chan’s hair gently with it. “Your hair is still wet, you might catch a cold.” Minho said slowly once he was done and Chan just stared at him, his eyes wide open.

“Thanks.” Chan choked out.

“I can drop you.” Minho said after a while.

“There really is no need, Minho.” Chan sighed.

“I can’t let Felix get drenched in the rain, I can't afford to have my favorite student falling sick now and missing classes.” Minho said as Felix giggled and clung onto him.

“Hyung, please let’s go with Mr Lee. He is funny and I like his car.” Felix said as he looked up at Chan with bright eyes.

Chan caved into it finally, not being able to refuse his brother’s wishes and followed Minho as he led them to the parking lot where he didn't say anything for a while.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Chan asked, as he got into the car.

Minho stayed silent, starting the car and reversing back into the road.

“Why can’t I be nice to you?” Minho shot back, “Why don’t you allow me to?”

Chan’s mouth fell open and he turned to see the scenery passing by as Minho drove. “It is just difficult to trust someone so quickly.” He said softly.

“I know that, Chan, but I am willing to help, and it is not for pity or anything but because _I want to.”_ Minho said, his tone determined.

“But why?” Chan asked again, softly.

Minho just shrugged, as he continued to look at the road.

“You're actually really nice, do you know that?" Chan said, his voice slightly shaky. "Like really, _really_ nice,”

“Thank you...I guess?” Minho smiled as he looked at the man through his rear view window. “I just wish you would realise that I genuinely want to be there for you.”

Chan remained quiet through the rest of the ride and Minho wondered if he said something wrong. Felix was shouting out some rhymes from the backseat and soon Minho was pulling the car by Chan’s apartment.

“Thank you, Minho.” Chan said gratefully, “I will return your clothes back to you as soon as I wash them.”

“Actually...you can keep them, they look better on you anyways.” Minho said, and watched as the tips of Chan’s ears turned red.

“Um...okay, thank you, I will see you again.” Chan said before turning and walking away and Minho realised that he had a huge smile on his face as he stared at the man. 

“I think I’m ready for the winter break to start, and to have some “me time’ for two whole months before it all starts again.” Seungmin said as he walked in Minho’s class. 

Minho looked up from the floor from where he was playing with Felix and gestured at the man to sit beside him.

“Ready to go home?” Seungmin asked as he plopped beside him.

“I am waiting for someone to come pick him up.” Minho replied.

“Isn’t it already like 15 minutes past the last bell?” Seungmin continued, picking up a toy dinosaur and placing it on Felix’s head, chuckling when the child tried to push his hand away.

“Yes, but his work ends late today so I am waiting.” Minho shrugged.

Seungmin nodded his head as he continued to play with Felix.

Around ten minutes passed by when they could hear footsteps coming closer, and Chan entered the room with a box in his arms.

“Hey!” Chan called out as Minho turned around to look at him.

The man looked stunning today, his hair was styled back, with few strands falling into his eyes, and he was dressed in all black and his pants were tight, clinging onto his thighs and shaping them well. Minho felt his breath being caught at his throat and wondered where the man was going.

Chan noticed Seungmin was there too and he stopped in his steps, “Oh sorry, I didn’t know you had company.”

“This is Seungmin, he teaches the class next to me. Seungmin this is Chan, he is the brother of this adorable young guy right here.” Minho introduced them quickly as he got up, Seungmin following suit.

“Hey Chan, it is good to meet you.” Seungmin smiled as he held out a hand to Chan.

Chan struggled to balance the box in his arms before shaking his hand and turning to Minho.

“I got you something from the café beside my office, as a thank you for what you did yesterday.” Chan said as he stretched his arms out, placing the box in Minho’s arms.

Minho was shocked, as he took it and he peeked inside. There were an assortment of doughnuts and pastries of different flavors and he felt really touched.

“Damn Chan, you are really trying to kill me with all this sweetness huh.” Minho said, a teasing smile playing on his lips.

“Maybe…” Chan admitted, as he started waving at Felix to get up. “C’mon Felix, get up…are you ready to go to Hyunjin hyung’s place?”

At that, Minho felt his body go numb. He knew that Hyunjin was obviously Chan’s very close friend or a possible boyfriend, and he wondered why Chan was going to his place, dressed like a whole snack and before Minho could tell himself to stay out of Chan’s business he blurted out, “Why are you going there?”

Chan looked at him in surprise, “Oh…” He faltered for a second before clearing his throat, “I didn’t know I had to tell you the reason why I am going to my friend’s house.”

_Oh._

That was awkward, especially with Seungmin watching the exchange with wide, interested eyes. Minho nodded his head, smiling weakly at the man whose expression turned into something akin to guilt.

“So… thanks for looking after Lixie, and it was nice meeting you Seungmin!”

“Goodbye Mr Lee.” Felix called out cutely as he walked out with his hyung.

“He is cute.” Seungmin mentioned as soon as they were left in the classroom alone.

“Yeah, Felix is a cute kid.”

“We both know that was not who I was talking about.” Seungmin chuckled and Minho looked at him, his eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean?”

Seungmin’s eyes twinkled with glee as he nudged Minho with his elbow, “Chan. He is very cute, and attractive, you should get his number or something.”

“Ok Seungmin, first, that is inappropriate as he is the brother of one of my students, second, I kind of have his number as he is the guardian and the emergency contact for Felix but no way in hell am I going to use it.” Minho said as he pushed Seungmin away from him.

“It is him that you have a crush on, isn’t it?” Seungmin laughed, “You should have seen your face when he mentioned he was going to that guy’s place.”

Minho frowned, wishing Seungmin could just drop the subject but maybe the man was right. His mind was now occupied with Chan in that outfit meeting Hyunjin. There was something tugging at his heart strings and he tried to shake the feeling off.

Seungmin smiled at him gently, “Look, I am meeting my boyfriend tonight, but you could join us? It is Friday and you look like you could use a drink?”

Minho blinked. Usually he wouldn’t want to intrude on a couple’s date nights, especially when the said couple was Seungmin and Changbin who he knew were extremely cheesy from their phone calls but he did want to have a drink, to take his mind off from Chan and so he nodded gratefully.

The bar was at the far part of the town, an hour ride from the school and it seemed extravagant, the prices all running high.

Seungmin and Minho waited outside, waiting for the man’s boyfriend. After a few minutes, the said boyfriend arrived, cheering out so loud that Minho could feel his ear drums bursting.

“Hey there! I am Changbin.” The man introduced himself brightly, “I heard good things about you.” Changbin was a very attractive man with silvery hair and was well built.

Minho looked at Seungmin suspiciously who just shrugged, “You are the only friend I have there… and also the only person around the same age as me. The rest are boomers.”

Minho laughed; it was indeed true. Changbin went into the bar first, followed by Seungmin and Minho trailed after them. The bar was decorated in an elegant way, with dark lighting casting shadows upon the room and it seemed like a place one would love to relax in.

Once again, Minho felt his mind go back to Chan, in that sensual outfit and he wondered what he was doing right now. He tried not to imagine Hyunjin and him together and failed and he so badly wanted a drink.

They got a table at the back of the bar, and Changbin got up, “First round is on me, in honour of me getting a new friend.” He cheered and scurried away to the bar before Minho could stop him.

He saw Seungmin staring after the man with fond eyes, and asked him, “How long were you two dating?”

“It has been like two years.” Seungmin said before continuing, “Are you still thinking about him?”

Minho knew who he meant, and he shook his head, “We don’t even know each other well for me to have a crush on him Seungmin, you are imagining things.”

“You don’t have to know the person fully or long enough to have a crush on them though.” Changbin said as he walked up to the table with a plate filled with drinks. “Oh, by the way Minho?” Changbin continued as he sat down, “You should totally go check out the bartender and get his number. He is so fucking attractive.”

Seungmin laughed, nodding his head furiously, “You should totally do that.”

Minho ignored the two, and took the rum and coke from the plate, gulping it down.

After a few more rounds of drink, they were all tipsy, and Minho thought Changbin was actually a pretty chill friend. He found himself telling him everything about this man called Chan and his younger brother and how Minho had this strong feeling of wanting to protect him and help him, but he was most probably in a relationship with someone else.

“You can’t just assume that.” Changbin said, his voice slurred. “Ask him out. Say you want to be there for him in life and death.”

Minho just stared at the man, wondering if he was serious as Seungmin burst out laughing. “This was what Changbin told me when he first asked me out.” He took a moment to wipe the tears from laughter. “And it worked because I said okay.”

Minho sighed deeply, “I am _not_ going to say that please.” He paused before continuing solemnly, “And he was kissing the man’s cheek in that picture.” 

“Look, friends kiss each other all the time okay, you still can’t just jump to conclusions.” Seungmin said as Changbin nodded his head aggressively.

“You need more alcohol in you, go get some and say hi to the bartender.” Changbin said as he nudged Minho out of the seat softly.

Minho knew it was a losing battle and he got up, shuffling his feet up to the bar. The countertop of the bar was so clean that Minho could see his reflection staring up back at him.

He hopped onto the stool, stretching himself and waited for the bartender to come over to him.

“Can I get you anything?”

The voice seemed weirdly familiar and Minho looked up, only to find himself staring into the eyes of the person who had been living on his mind rent free the whole day. Minho got up from the stool in shock, gaping at him. Chan looked back at him, equally surprised, before he tried to compose himself.

“Minho?” Chan asked bewildered, “What are you doing here?”

“What are _you_ doing here?” Minho shot back.

“I work here Friday and Saturday nights.” Chan said.

“I thought you were a secretary.”

“I am a secretary; this is for extra cash.”

No wonder Chan looked so weary all the time, the man was working an office job and doing part time at a bar. Does he even sleep? Minho wondered to himself. Was that why Chan was dressed up like this? So, he wasn’t on a date with Hyunjin. That was a relief.

“Where is Felix?” Minho asked Chan.

“He is over at Hyunjin’s place.” Chan answered, “Hyunjin lives closer so it is easier for us…do you…want a drink?” He asked.

Minho listed out his order and Chan skid across the counter as Minho continued to watch with discerning eyes, dissecting his every step. Minho did _not_ believe in fate, but he believed that finding himself at the same bar where Chan was working was not some weird kind of coincidence and most probably meant something. It was probably a message from the universe telling him that he must be there for Chan. He watched as Chan walked back to him gracefully, placing a glass in front of him.

“Enjoy.” Chan smiled, locking gazes with him, and Minho thought Chan’s eyes illustrated an endless abyss.

Minho nodded as he brought the glass up and took a sip.

“You are skilled.” He hummed as the sweet taste of coke and the bitterness of whiskey blended well together.

“It is literally just whiskey and coke, Minho.” Chan laughed, and Minho’s heart soared.

“Still a skill.” Minho shrugged as Chan shook his head amused.

Chan had to go serve another customer, and Minho watched as the customer, who was a male, flirted shamelessly with Chan. It was obvious that Chan was extremely attractive and would attract all kinds of attention and Minho decided he did not like that, one bit.

Chan headed back to Minho, another drink in his hands, “This one is on me.” He said softly and Minho took the drink and downed it in one shot.

“Minho you were supposed to drink that slowl-“

“One more, please.” Minho interrupted.

Chan stared at him, before taking out another glass and pouring him the same drink.

Minho took it in one shot again and Chan looked at him in worry.

Silence lingered tranquilly between them, and then Minho cleared his throat before asking, “You know I can drive you to Hyunjin and wait for you to pick Felix up and drop you off.” He offered.

Chan lifted his head up, lashes fluttering away his surprise before answering, “Minho, first…I think you are in no state to drive, please take a cab home. Second, I am staying over at Hyunjin’s and then I will leave with Felix on Sunday morning.

So, Chan spent his weekends at Hyunjin’s place. Minho didn’t know what to think of that.

“Oh okay.” Minho answered, and his voice was so slurred it made him cringe. He couldn’t stand to see Chan in front of him staring at him pityingly. “Need… to go to the washroom.” He muttered before getting off the stool and hurrying over. He could feel concerned eyes burning a hole through his back, but he tried to ignore it.

As Minho walked in through the doors, he placed his arms on the basin and leaned on them, waiting for his surroundings to stop spinning so he could have a steadier mind. He took in deep breaths, and after some time, he could finally feel the spinning stop. He heard the door open and close behind him as he opened the faucet and splashed some water onto his face. As Minho turned, he was startled to see Chan standing over there.

Minho walked past Chan to get to the door but then the man stopped him by placing a hand gently on his arm.

“Are you okay?”

Minho hated how it seemed like Chan cared about him deeply, hated how he could feel the warmth of Chan radiating through his entire body and maybe Minho had too much to drink but he shrugged Chan off, a little too harshly.

“Why would you care?” Minho asked.

Chan looked up at him in shock, “Minho…what?”

Minho sighed, as his eyes wandered everywhere, avoiding Chan’s piercing gaze. “I want to take care of you okay? I want to be there for not only you but Felix.”

“Minho, we don’t need your pity or help, I have told you that.” Chan started, frustration seeping into his tone and Minho was so tired of this.

“Why do you think it is out of pity? I just want to be there more, I want to spend more time with both of you, get to know you more.” Minho rambled on, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

Somehow during their conversation, Minho had started closing the distance between them, Chan backing away slowly until he found himself pressed against the wall near the sink.

“Minho, listen, I don’t know what you are suggesting here.” Chan said softly, his voice hushed.

“I am just saying, Hyunjin is not the only one you could trust.” Minho whispered slowly, as he leaned in closer. He was so close to Chan now, and could feel the man’s heartbeat pick up pace as he placed a hand on the wall, caging him. Minho knew this was a mistake and he should back the fuck out of there before he ended up spoiling everything between them, but Chan was irresistible, and his warmth was just dragging him in more.

"Minho, I need to get back to work." Chan whispered softly but he didn't make any attempts to push him away which was reassuring. 

"You are so frustrating, always pushing me away." Minho continued, the alcohol helping the words flow out of his mouth freely.

“You are drunk.” Chan stated, looking to the side, his gaze avoiding Minho’s.

“I really care about the two of you.” Minho sighed, as he brought his hand up and tilted Chan’s face towards him gently, his lips hovering over Chan’s, just barely touching. “Why do you have to be so difficult?” He breathed as he slid his other arm around Chan’s waist, bringing him in closer. “You are really starting to drive me crazy, Channie.”

Minho swore he heard Chan inhale a sharp intake of breath and saw his eyes fluttering close, and was about to press his lips against the man when the door opened with a bang.

“Minho, where the _fuck_ have you been?” Seungmin bellowed and Minho jumped away from Chan, maintaining a distance between them as Seungmin came to a stop.

“ _Oh.”_ Seungmin said, his mouth dropped open.

“Sorry, we were just talking.” Minho muttered, feeling his senses come back to life.

“Yeah right.”

“We really were.” Minho coughed.

“I have to get back to work.” Chan whispered quickly, before walking away.

Seungmin watched as Chan scurried past him, before turning to face Minho again.

“Sooo, what was happening here?” He asked, his arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

“Nothing. And I better get home.” Minho said, as he brushed past Seungmin to exit the washroom.

“Minho, wait.” Seungmin called out as he rushed towards him.

Minho hurried to the table they were seated in, ignoring the bartender who was looking at them with worry in his eyes.

“What happened?” Changbin asked as Minho and Seungmin reached the table.

“The bartender….he is the crush I tease Minho with.” Seungmin exhaled slowly.

“He is _not_ my crush.” Minho said indignantly, “And I should be going.”

“Minho, just stay for a few minutes, we will drop you off home, or you could stay with us for the night.” Seungmin suggested.

“And listen to the two of you go at it while I feel even more lonely?” Minho bit back and he knew it was not fair for the two of them, but his thoughts were all muddled in his mind and all he could think about was Chan.

“Minho, we would never do that to you.” Changbin said, his tone gentle. “At least let us drop you off home.”

Minho nodded and Changbin pulled out his phone calling the cab. After a few minutes, they got up and headed towards the exit. Minho could see from the corner of his eyes, Chan eyeing them, but he ignored him. He couldn’t do this now, he was tired and all he wanted to do was go back home and pass out in his soft, comfortable bed. Seungmin and Changbin dropped him off at his apartment and he muttered a quick thank you before trudging up to the elevator, and walking towards his door. The last image he had before passing out was Chan, leaning towards him for the kiss.

* * *

The morning rays of the sun seeped through the curtains on the window, stirring Minho up awake. He groaned as he felt his head throb in pain and sat up slowly on his bed. As he stared at nothing in particular, flashes of memories of the last night played over in his mind and he groaned once again. He probably screwed up whatever he had with Chan and he was dreading seeing him again on Monday.

The weekend passed by quickly, and Monday arrived. Minho’s mind was elsewhere throughout the entire day and his eyes darted nervously towards the door, when the final class ended. Chan was right on time, and Minho was thankful as that meant they would not be alone and he could just avoid him. Minho was wrong, however, as Chan held onto Felix’s hand and made his way towards him. The next few words that came out of Chan’s mouth made Minho’s mouth drop open in surprise.

“Do you want to have dinner with us today?”

Minho had driven over to a restaurant that was by the seaside and Chan had looked at the sea brightly, happiness lighting up in his eyes, that Minho knew he made the right decision in bringing him here.

“I assume you either love the sea or seafood.” Minho chuckled.

“Both actually, but yes I love the sea a lot.” Chan hummed in appreciation.

Felix ran towards the restaurant, screaming happily as Chan laughed.

“I haven’t seen him this happy in so long.” He said as Minho smiled at him.

“Thank you for finally agreeing to having dinner with me.” Minho said as they entered the restaurant.

“You are a nice person, Minho and way too patient.” Chan sighed as they entered the restaurant. “I don’t know why you are so nice to me, but _maybe_ I should stop pushing you away.”

The restaurant was beautiful, the light inside was faint and it threw a yellowish glow over Chan’s face. There were lamps all over the restaurant and it held a peaceful atmosphere as it was not crowded. They found a table at the back and Chan gestured over to Felix to come hold his hand as they walked towards the table. 

Once they were all seated and had listed out their orders, Chan put his elbows on the table and sighed. “It had been a while since I did this.”

“Since, you went out with another human?” Minho asked, raising his eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, I mean... I only hung out with my friends, having little to no time for anything.” Chan said, patting Felix’s hair absent-mindedly. Felix is my whole life, and my first priority.”

“I totally understand that, and I am sorry about…Friday.” Minho apologised, feeling his face burn as he remembered how close Chan was to him, how he could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

“It’s fine, you were drunk.” Chan said as he brushed it off and Minho once again felt the slight bubble of frustration brewing in his stomach at how oblivious Chan could be.

The waitress came by and set their food down, and Chan got ready to feed Felix but Minho placed his hand gently on his, stopping him.

“I know, your lunch breaks have been reduced, which probably meant you had nothing to eat, so please eat...I will take care of Felix.”

Chan looked like he was ready to argue but the steeled, determined look in Minho’s eyes made him stop and he just sighed, going back to his food, while Minho pushed his seat closer to Felix and picked up a spoonful of rice.

“Open up, the airplane is coming.” Minho sang as he brought the spoon near.

Felix started giggling, “I am not a child.” He said as he opened his mouth.

“Of course you are not.” Minho cooed as he fed another spoonful.

“No, Channie hyung is the child, sometimes he cries and he does not know what is tiktok.” Felix said, and Chan stiffened at those words.

Minho tried to pretend like he didn’t hear the first part of the sentence, brushing past it. “So, what is tiktok, Lixie?”

Felix then went on an excited spree about tiktok and the videos on there and Minho was actually impressed that a 6 year old had so much knowledge about an app. He kept glancing over at Chan, who was quietly finishing up his food, looking tense and Minho reached over and patted his shoulder gently, Chan looking up and smiling gratefully at him. After Felix was done with his food, Minho reached over and wiped the sauce on his chin with his thumb, and Chan let out a sigh again, but as Minho turned to look at him, he saw that Chan was smiling.

“Thank you so much.” Chan said.

Minho just nodded his head, wishing his heartbeat would stop accelerating like a teenager crushing on someone.

When the waitress came back to ask if they needed anything else, she winked at Minho before leaving which made Chan laugh.

“Was she flirting?” 

Minho shrugged, “I didn’t notice anything.”

“Sure you weren’t.” Chan chuckled, his tone teasing, “She is very beautiful, there is no way you didn’t notice that.”

Minho couldn’t help but notice the dimple in Chan’s cheek as he smiled, the way his eyes sparkled.

“I don’t think I can notice anything else when the most beautiful person is sitting right in front of me.” Minho said softly, and Chan stilled in his seat.

“Minho…” Chan trailed off.

“So, your jobs...aren’t you tired?” Minho said quickly, shifting in his seat, wanting to change the topic.

Chan stared at him for a while before letting out an exhale and answering, “The bartending is just temporary, I needed the job urgently and I would be leaving in another two months.”

“Oh...okay. If you need any help, I am here, Chan. For both of you.”

Chan smiled at him quietly, “I know.”

Something definitely shifted between them two. 

Minho started dropping Chan and Felix off at their apartment everyday, and some days they would have dinner together. Felix had grown fond of Minho and would always make him gifts, like bead bracelets or cards with “My favourite teacher” scribbled all over it in his scrawly handwriting. It made Minho really happy but he knew Chan was still holding back and was always on his guard. 

Dinners with Chan and Felix made Minho really happy, and he enjoyed each and every minute of it but he wanted to be there more for them. However, Chan wouldn’t allow it and would often call up Hyunjin if he needed any help, even though Minho would _insist_ on letting him help.

Everything was going smoothly until the end of the week. 

Minho sighed sadly as Felix cried on his lap, hiding his face into his plaid shirt. This was not supposed to happen, he wanted to protect Felix, wanted to make sure Chan didn’t get more stress on his plate but he failed today. A few kids had teased Felix and had told him that one day his hyung would disappear just like his parents.

Now this was really mean, and Minho reported them to the principal who would be having a talk with their parents, but the damage was done. He rocked Felix on his lap, as he waited for Chan to arrive. He already informed him what happened, and his heart dropped when he heard the pain so prominent in Chan’s voice.

“Please, _please_ stay with him, I will leave work right away and be there.” Chan pleaded and Minho tried to reassure him, but he knew how protective Chan was of Felix and that he would be hurrying over to him now.

“Is hyung going to leave me too?” Felix wailed, looking up at Minho, as his tiny hands gripped onto the teacher’s sleeve.

“No, Lixie. Hyung is coming over right now.” Minho whispered, patting Felix’s back gently.

Felix buried his face into Minho’s chest, sobbing and Minho continued to whisper into his ears, comforting him.

Thankfully, Seungmin had hopped over and helped to manage the other kids while Minho tried to soothe down Felix. After some time, he felt Felix relax against him, his chest rising up and down gently, and Minho looked down to see him asleep.

Chan rushed through the doors, his eyes wandering over the room frantically before spotting them and rushing over. Minho placed a finger on his lips, indicating that Felix was asleep, and Chan mouthed a thank you as he lifted the boy off from Minho’s arms. Chan’s face was drawn, his bottom lip between his teeth and his skin looked paler than usual. 

Felix stirred lightly, opening his eyes, and smiling when he saw it was his hyung.

“Hyung…”

Chan hugged him close to him, rocking his body and telling him to go back to sleep.

Felix closed his eyes and muttered groggily, “Hyung, you won’t leave me, too right?”

Chan stilled in his steps and Minho could see that the man was trying hard to not break there and then.

“I would never leave you, Lixie.” He muttered reassuringly, soothing him as Felix went back to sleep.

Minho knew he couldn’t let Chan go back home alone in this state. He got up and headed over to Seungmin, telling him that he was going to head off early. Seungmin nodded his head; he was done with his classes for the day anyways and Minho was grateful.

Minho then walked over to Chan, “I will drop you home.”

The energy had seemingly deflated from Chan as he couldn’t even argue or refuse the offer.

He followed Minho and got into the backseat, with Felix sleeping on his lap. Chan gave his address to Minho and soon they were at his apartment complex.

“Thank you. For all your help.” Chan muttered, his voice trembling. “Do you want to come up and have dinner?” Minho didn’t want Chan to think this was a favour but there was a nagging feeling in his gut and he didn’t want to leave Chan alone, so he accepted it.

He followed Chan as he headed towards the elevator, keying in his floor and walking to his door. Chan struggled a bit with the keys, as he was holding Felix too and Minho took the boy from Chan’s hands gently and slowly. Chan muttered a quick thanks before opening the door.

Chan’s apartment looked really homely, there were toys strewn in a corner messily but other than that it was really clean, and smelled so good, smelled like _home._

Chan headed over towards a room, which Minho assumed was Felix’s room, and he followed him. Chan flicked on the lights on the living room and the room lights, picking up a teddy from the floor, and pulled the soft duvets back from the bed, before gesturing at Minho.

Minho headed to the bed, lying Felix down gently, before tucking him in and Chan placed the teddy next to him. Felix’s face was all scrunched up, before it relaxed again. Chan ran his fingers through his brother’s hair, placing gentle kisses over his cheeks before quietly retreating out of the room.

Minho didn’t know what to say, they hardly spoke on their way over here and he realized it was the first time he was in Chan’s house and he was starting to think maybe it was not a good idea.

“Chan?” Minho called out to the man who was busy staring at the floor.

Chan didn’t look up, his eyes still fixated on the floor.

One second, two seconds, three seconds passed by before Chan’s shoulders started trembling, the sobs wrecking through his body.

Minho hurried over to him, pulling him in close and engulfing him in a warm embrace and Chan burrowed his face into Minho’s shirt.

“It is okay, Chan.” Minho whispered in reassurance, his hand rubbing circles on the man’s back.

“I am so tired.” Chan sobbed, and Minho could feel the wetness of his tears seep through his shirt and it was so heart wrenching.

“You are so strong, Channie.” Minho soothed him, one hand moving over to his hair, and caressing through the strands softly. “I am so proud of you.”

"He is just six years old, he shouldn't be asking me that, he deserves to have parents who could do everything for him." Chan said, his voice breaking with every word.

"You are doing a really good job though Chan, it is going to be okay." Minho whispered, continuing to stroke through Chan's hair.

They stood like that for a good ten minutes until Chan tired himself out with the tears, as he pulled away from Minho and looked at him embarrassed.

Chan’s eyes were tinged red and his nose was pink, and Minho knew it was not the time, but the man looked so cute at that moment and Minho would do anything to protect him.

“I am sorry.” Chan sniffed, “Take a seat, I will make some ramen.”

“I will make it, you just take some rest now Chan.”

“No, please let me.” Chan sighed, as he wiped his eyes with the end of his sleeves, “It is the least I could do after you had both of us dirtying your shirt with our tears.” He tried to laugh but it came out weakly and Minho’s heart skipped a beat.

"Let me at least help you?”

Chan shook his head, “Just go take a seat on the couch, I will be done in ten minutes, make yourself comfortable.”

Minho gave up, taking a seat on the couch and scrolling through his phone as he heard the noise of pans coming from the kitchen.

Seungmin had texted him saying that everyone had gone home safely and asked if Chan was doing okay and Minho quickly replied back, telling him everything was fine.

Chan entered the living room after a while, placing two bowls on the table and sat next to Minho on the couch.

"I am so sorry, I don't usually cry like that." Chan muttered.

"It is fine, you have to let those emptions out at times instead of keeping everything in." Minho assured him.

“Do you want to watch anything on the TV?” Chan asked softly.

Minho shook his head as he took the bowl, “No, I prefer talking to you.”

“Minho…” Chan sighed as he started digging into his ramen.

They sat in silence, just slurping up the noodles, until Chan broke the silence, “I am sorry.”

Minho looked up startled, “Why are you apologising?”

“I don’t deserve your kindness. And today must have been really tiring for you.” Chan whispered, his voice so soft and broken and it was tearing at Minho’s heart.

“Chan…” Minho said, placing his empty bowl back on the table before turning around to face the other man. “You deserve more than this.”

Chan inhaled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “My mother died when Felix was two and my father was never there for us physically or emotionally, only giving us money. But two months earlier, he had left us, leaving us a note saying he is not coming back. I had to take up the bartending job quickly as I was running out of cash.” He said, his hands clenching and unclenching.

Minho placed a hand on Chan’s knee, trying to comfort the man who was shaking slightly.

“I mean...at least I got to experience my mother’s love before she passed away, but Felix?” Chan paused, biting his lips nervously as he continued to stare at the floor, “He only ever had and has me.” At this Chan reached out, and gripped onto Minho’s hand on his knee, holding on to him tightly, closing his eyes shut.

Minho reached up with his other hand, and wiped away the stray tear that was trailing down Chan’s cheek as the man shuddered, and to Minho’s surprise, he leaned into the touch.

“I never asked you this, but how old are you?” Minho asked as he caressed Chan’s cheek gently with his thumb.

“I am 21…yeah there is a big age gap between Felix and me.” Chan hummed. “You?”

“I am 25.”

“I guess you are my hyung then, huh?” Chan giggled and Minho prayed to the Gods that Chan would not be able to see the red flush that crept onto his face.

“Minho is fine.” He choked out.

“Minho...thank you.” Chan said, as he looked up at him.

Minho wanted to pull the man closer, embrace him, kiss him but he knew Chan was vulnerable right now and he did not want to take advantage of that.

He pulled his hand away slowly, “You are doing a good job by the way, I hope you know that. Felix is really lucky to have a brother like you.”

“I don’t know...there are things I am unable to do for him.” Chan sighed wistfully, casting his eyes down. “Like, when I was his age, my mom had bought me this toy batman automobile and I remember it used to make me the happiest child in the world, just being able to drive it around the house, knocking things down.” He looked away wistfully, before pulling himself back to the present. “I just couldn’t find it anymore and even if I did.... I could not afford it.” He concluded sadly.

“Chan…” Minho started as he pushed back a loose strand of hair that was falling into Chan’s eyes, “Don’t be too hard on yourself. You are already doing your best.” He said and Chan smiled at him thankfully.

“You should get some rest…” Chan trailed off as he pulled away and stood up. A quick flicker of emotion that looked like disappointment flickered in Minho’s eyes before it faded away. 

“You should too…” Minho mumbled, as he got up.

Minho walked towards the door, Chan following behind. Minho knew he had to say something before he left and he turned around quickly, and was startled to realise that Chan was standing _really_ close to him and did not take a step behind.

“I-” Minho gulped, before speaking again, “Take care of yourself, and I hope both Felix and you would feel better soon...and uhm...sorry I couldn’t take care of Felix.”

Chan was too close, he could smell his cologne, a combination of citrus and mint, which smelled comforting, just like Chan’s presence.

“You took better care of him than anyone.” Chan muttered, his tongue peeking out to lick his lips and Minho’s eyes followed the movement.

Whatever daze they both had stumbled into broke as a phone started ringing, Chan taking a step back in shock, pulling his phone out.

“Hey Hyunjin?”

_Oh._

Minho had almost forgotten the existence of a potential boyfriend, if Hyunjin was even a boyfriend. If Hyunjin was his boyfriend then Chan wouldn’t be leaning in, anticipating a kiss right? Or was everything just in his mind? He sighed in frustration. “Goodnight, Chan.” 

“Hyunjin, hold on.” Chan murmured quickly into the phone before turning back to Minho.

“Thank you once again.”

“Stop thanking me, I am here for you.” Minho said, before turning around and making his way towards the elevator, his heart thudding at an extra fast pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh so, I thought teacher Minho with kids is something that is needed in the world and that video of baby lixie made my heart warm and I had to write about chanlix brothers with minho wanting to take care of them :((( It is probably weird but I hope it is not boring haahhaha.  
> Also, since people told me I always write Minho as an asshole, he is a sweetheart throughout this fic :")  
> this a twoshot btw! and I will upload the second chapter up tomorrow? Thank you for reading and comments and kudos are appreciated <3  
> also thank you @channiefanatic for coming up with this title and for the motivation as usual <3  
> PS: If you need to cry over minchan, find me on twitter [@dimpleechan](https://twitter.com/dimpleechan)


	2. Chapter 2

“So are you and that bartender dating or something?” Changbin asked as he leaned casually against his chair.

Minho was having lunch over at Changbin’s place with Seungmin and he choked on his food when Changbin asked that.

“I don’t think it is called dating, I don’t even know if he is single.” Minho complained.

“I mean, that Hyunjin person could be his best friend or something you know?” Seungmin said, shrugging. “He seemed really flustered the time I cockblocked you both at the bar, so it meant he was actually anticipating whatever you were going to do to him.”

“I was just going to kiss him, chill...but.” Minho paused before groaning and clutching onto his hair, annoyed, “I don’t know.”

“Our boy here is having a love crisis.” Changbin chuckled, “Why don’t you like ask him out, an actual date?”

“I don’t want him to sacrifice his time with Felix for me.”

“Okay, why don’t you ask him, if he is single?” Seungmin suggested.

“I don’t want him to think I am prying into his private business.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you _both_ are so frustrating.” Changbin snapped as Seungmin placed an arm on his shoulder, soothing him down.

“Okay, I will ask him the next time I see him, if he is still single, happy?” Minho scoffed as he picked at his food.

“Yes, please fucking ask him already.” Changbin groaned.

Minho didn’t ask him. Maybe because before he could ask, Chan had come up to him in class and asked him if he was free the weekend.

“Uhm...it is my birthday, and I hate celebrating it but, my friends were forcing me and they are throwing a party, so...if you are free....you are invited.” Chan said meekly and Minho wanted to coo at how cute the man was. 

“Sure.” Minho shrugged.

“Also, I realised we never exchanged numbers, so do you want to…?” Chan looked at Minho questioningly and the teacher broke out into a blinding smile.

“Sure.” He repeated, taking his phone out and saving Chan’s number before giving him a missed call. “Save the number.” 

Chan thanked him before putting the phone back into his pocket. “Also, please tell Seungmin and his boyfriend? That they are invited too.” He said before turning back.

“Chan?” Minho called out as Chan looked back, “Do you want me to drop you?”

Chan hesitated for a while, chewing on his lips, “I am taking the bus today….”

Minho hoped the disappointment didn’t show on his face as he nodded, “Okay…”

Every time Minho thought they took a step forward, he felt like Chan would take two steps back.

* * *

Chan’s birthday was coming up and Minho had the perfect gift in mind for him, but he knew it would be a struggle to find it. He spent the entire week, walking into malls, and shops, looking for the specific gift.

“Can’t you get him something more simple? Like some black lace or something?” Changbin suggested earning a smack from a flushed Minho.

He was about to give up when he _finally_ spotted something on the displays of one of the shops he was walking past, and he held onto Seungmin and Changbin, before dragging them into the shop.

The days passed by quickly, dragging the weekend in and it was soon the day of the party. Minho got ready, dressed in a red silk shirt and tight black pants, and quickly put on some light eyeliner. He told himself he wasn’t dressing up to impress Chan or something and it was only because Changbin demanded that Minho wore something nice or else he would talk to Minho forever in his aegyo voice. Something, Minho did _not_ want. He looked at himself in the mirror, taking in a deep breath and letting it out, before grabbing his car keys and heading out.

Seungmin and Changbin were going to meet him over at Chan’s place so he headed off first. The gift was going to be delivered straight to Chan’s place, but unfortunately it would take a week. Minho decided at the last minute that he could not just go to Chan’s place bare-handed and decided to get some red roses for Chan, cringing at the cheesiness. 

Minho could hear the shouts as soon as he was near the door, which meant that there were people already in there and he was beginning to get nervous. He held the roses in one hand before hurriedly fixing his hair and checked his reflection on his phone before ringing the bell. The door was opened by a man he hadn’t seen before. The man resembled a fox and he grinned at him before letting him in. “You must be Minho!” The man exclaimed loudly, “Your presence was anticipated.”

Minho stared at him in confusion before he was dragged in. He saw Hyunjin sitting on a couch with another man he didn’t recognise. The fox-like man pushed Minho towards a door exclaiming that Chan was in there, trying to put Felix to sleep.

Minho swallowed nervously before knocking on the door and pushing it open when he heard a soft voice calling out, telling him to enter.

Chan was seated on the bed, arguing with Felix who had his lips turned up into a pout.

“I want to be awake!” He screamed, hitting his brother before turning to Minho, “Mr Lee! Tell hyung that I want to be awake.”

Chan sighed, resting his face in his arms, and Minho took a good look at Chan, who was dressed up in a white shirt and tight leather pants, with light make-up and eyeliner and he looked so ethereal that Minho forgot how to breathe. Chan looked up at him, and Minho held out his hands, holding the roses.

“Happy birthday.” Minho wished nervously.

Chan gasped, getting up and taking the flowers from Minho, their hands brushing against the other briefly, sending sparks up Minho’s arms. 

“Roses are my favourite.” Chan exclaimed, smiling at the flowers, “Wait here with Felix, I will find a vase for them.”

Minho nodded before sitting beside Felix who was still in a bad mood.

“C’mon Lixie, cheer up. It is your hyung’s birthday, listen to him.”

“I want to be awake for hyung! I want to cut cake and feed hyung.” Felix whined and Minho felt his heartstrings tug when tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes.

When Chan entered, Minho tried to come to a compromise with them.

“Let him stay until you cut the cake, Chan and then Lixie would go to sleep, is that right Lix?”

Felix looked at Minho before looking at his hyung and nodded, “I promise.” He sniffed.

Chan sighed, giving up, “Okay fine, but after cake, you are going to sleep or Channie hyung won’t talk to you.”

Minho felt his heart constrict when the man referred to himself in the third person and tried to hide his grin.

“What are you smiling at?” Chan snapped at him and Minho’s grin grew wider as he replied, “You are just too cute.”

Minho watched in amusement as the tips of Chan’s ears turned crimson.

Chan walked out of the room, into the living room and started introducing Minho to the three others.

“This man here, you probably know already, is Hyunjin, my best friend.” Chan announced, pointing over the tall, long haired blonde who got up and shook Minho’s hands. 

“I believe we didn’t have a formal introduction before.” Hyunjin said, a tiny smirk playing on his lips.

“This man.” Chan continued, pointing over to the foxy looking man, “Is Jeongin...and that man…” He pointed over to the man sitting next to Hyunjin, smiling at him kindly, “Is Jisung, and they both have the same mental age as Lixie.”

Both Jeongin and Jisung started shouting out something at Chan and in the middle of the chaos the doorbell rang and Chan hurried to open it. It was Seungmin and Changbin, holding an expensive bottle of champagne.

“Happy birthday to the man of Minho’s dreams!” Changbin shouted and Minho facepalmed himself, wanting the floor to open and swallow him up.

Chan giggled, before letting them in, and they introduced themselves to the others.

Minho was cautious at first, but he started warming up to the others. Chan’s friends were really nice, friendly and outgoing and they made everyone feel welcome. As much as he hated to admit, Hyunjin was a good company too. Felix was perched on Minho’s knees as he spoke to Jeongin.

“You know...I never saw Lixie grow close to someone other than us.” Jeongin smiled, “He must really like you.”

Before Minho could answer, Felix nodded his head furiously, “Mr Lee is the best.”

Minho laughed, loud and full bodied as he stared at Felix warmly. He saw Chan walk out of the kitchen from his peripheral vision and looked up to see the man speaking animatedly with Hyunjin, and just like that, his smile melted off his face.

Felix got down from Minho’s knee and sat on the floor playing with his toys as Minho got up, heading towards Chan and Hyunjin.

“Chan?” Minho called out and Chan spun around, facing him, “Do you need any help?”

Chan shook his head, “No, It is okay, I have Hyunjin here, my lifesaver.” He chuckled and Minho felt his heart sinking once again.

_Of course._

He saw the smile fade from Chan’s face as it was replaced by a look of worry, “Are you okay, Minho?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Minho shrugged, trying to keep his tone devoid of emotions and walked away to sit next to Seungmin and Changbin.

“They do look close.” Seungmin said once Minho was next to them.

Minho sighed heavily as he pressed at his eyelids, “I don’t know what to do.”

Before either of them could answer, Jisung came up to them and announced loudly that they were going to cut the cake, and they got up and gathered around the table.

Minho watched as Hyunjin took out a birthday hat and placed it gently on Chan’s hair. Felix was standing on a chair next to Chan, clapping his hands in glee as they all started singing happy birthday. Chan lifted Felix up, bringing him close to the cake so Felix could blow out the candle and placed him back on the chair. He cut out a slice of cake, and fed Felix, before cutting out another slice and looking around. They caught eyes for a second before Chan decided to feed the person standing the closest to him, which was obviously Hyunjin.

Hyunjin took a little of the cake and spread it all over Chan’s face as the man yelped, pushing him away. When it was Minho’s turn, he just opened his mouth wide so Chan could feed him, before wishing him a happy birthday again.

Once they were done, Chan reminded Felix of his promise and the boy started grumbling.

“Please help yourselves to the food and drinks, I will be back after putting him to sleep.” Chan announced, but Minho got up quickly.

“Chan, it is your special day, stay and enjoy. I will put him to sleep.” He suggested, walking up to him.

“Minho, it is fine. I can do this.” Chan huffed but Felix pulled his hand away from Chan and held onto Minho, “I want Mr Lee.”

“Felix, don’t-”

“Let him be Chan.” Minho interrupted, “Just go and enjoy, I will take care of him.”

Chan looked like he was struggling to say something before nodding and going over to the couch.

“Let’s open some champagne!” Jisung yelled as the others cheered, and Minho guided Felix to his room.

Minho pulled back the duvets and tucked Felix in, dimming down the lights and they both made up a story using the stuffed toys Felix had.

After some time, Minho decided to have a conversation with the younger boy, feeling ridiculous with himself.

“Why does your hyung hate me?” Minho sighed, as he pouted sadly.

Felix looked at him confused, “Hyung doesn’t hate you.”

“Your hyung always trusts Hyunjin hyung and not me.” Minho complained, and he couldn’t believe that he was actually sitting here, talking to a six year old once again about his hyung.

“Hyung likes you.” Felix said, as he threw a stuffed toy down and Minho had to pick it up.

“Yeah right.” Minho grumbled and Felix shrugged before continuing playing.

“Hyung looks happier after he met Mr Lee.” Felix said before continuing, “Hyung also smells nicer.”

Minho stared at the little kid and realised that he was pouring out his woes to him and laughed, “You are my favourite student Lixie, just don’t tell the others okay.”

Felix cheered happily and Minho started reading to him, and waited until the little one finally drifted off to sleep. Minho adjusted and smoothened the sheets around Felix before heading out where the party was still on full swing, except a lot quieter, in order to not wake Lixie up.

The champagne was already open and Chan looked pink in the face as he finished up his glass. He got up as soon as Minho entered the room, and poured Minho a glass, handing it to him.

“Did he fall asleep?” Chan asked, his fingers lingering a bit too long on his hand when he passed the glass.

Minho nodded before accepting the glass and sipping it, trying to ignore the scorching heat from where Chan had touched him.

After a few glasses of the champagne and other drinks that were on the table, Minho could feel the alcohol slowly starting to seep in and take effect.

He found himself sitting next to Hyunjin, to his annoyance and he finished his drink in one shot, filling it up again.

“You know...Chan doesn’t stop talking about you.” Hyunjin spoke up suddenly.

Minho turned around bewildered, wondering if Hyunjin was actually talking to him.

The blonde chuckled before continuing, “He rambles, actually. It is cute.”

Minho opened his mouth to say something, before closing it.

“What are we talking about here?” Jisung asked as he took a seat next to them. “Is this about how Channie boy is whipped for the teacher?”

Chan looked over at them and Minho noted that the man’s cheeks were bright red, which was adorable.

Unfortunately, Seungmin and Changbin decided they had to join in the conversation too.

“Actually, you should listen to Minho pine and yearn over Chan all day long.” Seungmin sighed, shaking his head dramatically.

“Gosh, it gets so annoying sometimes really.” Changbin complained.

“Hey, stop bullying him.” Chan whined, walking towards them.

Hyunjin got up from the couch, and pushed Chan down to sit next to Minho.

“The two most oblivious idiots.” Jeongin sighed.

Minho couldn’t wrap his mind around the conversation that was taking place. His mind was still reeling from what Hyunjin had just told him and he was confused.

Chan’s thighs were pressed against his, and he swallowed nervously.

“Seriously stop.” Chan insisted, as he opened another bottle of wine, “Stop scaring him, we are just friends.”

“Like I said, two oblivious gay idiots.” Jeongin sighed dramatically.

Minho would like to speak up and insist that it was Chan who was the oblivious one here but he just accepted another glass of wine, trying to shove his thoughts back down.

The boys decided to drop the subject and started talking about other matters, getting to know each other more, and Minho felt good, better in fact. He could still feel the heat radiating from Chan’s body and his heart would start palpitating whenever Chan would lean across him, to reach out for a drink or to pick at the snacks.

It was too much for him.

It was getting late and one by one they all started to leave while Minho decided to stay back, helping Chan clear everything up. Hyunjin was one of the last ones to leave and he whispered something against the man’s ears before leaving. Whatever it was, Chan had flushed brightly at it and Minho tried to ignore the lump at his throat.

Minho rolled up his sleeves and started washing the dishes at the sink. Chan came and stood next to him, and tried to push him away, insisting that he would do it but Minho had told him that as a birthday boy, he had the rights to not do any chores. Chan laughed, but helped Minho in drying the dishes before putting them away.

Once they were done, Chan just leaned against the wall, staring at Minho.

“Was it true?” He asked.

Minho threw him a glance before looking away, “Is what true?”

“What they said....you being whipped.”

Minho shrugged as he dried his hands, “What do you think?”

“I think you are foolish and deserve better.”

“Chan…” Minho sighed as he turned to face the man. It was quiet and he could hear Chan’s steady breaths. “They were right about you being oblivious.”

Chan laughed, but it sounded fake, “Minho, please. My whole life is Felix right now, I have no time for anyone else.”

Minho was getting tired of this, he had been patient for so long but he wished Chan could see his true feelings for him and how he cares about Felix as well. He took a few steps forward, closing the distance between them.

“Chan...what do you really think of me?” Minho asked, his voice hushed, and Chan took a step back, feeling his back hit the wall.

“I…” Chan stammered, looking away.

Maybe it was the alcohol making Minho feel bold once again, but he was tired of being hopeful, only to have it crushed the next day and he needed to know _now._

“I am tired, Channie.” Minho whispered, “I am tired of assuming that you need me as much as I need you, I am tired of being interrupted constantly when I feel like something could happen between us, so why don’t you put a stop to it.” He paused for a second, to brush his hair back, “Tell me once and for all, what you think about me, and I will stop trying.”

Chan was avoiding looking at Minho, "I think we are a bit too drunk for this, don't you?" He mumbled weakly.

"Chan... I just need to know if I am being a fool." Minho sighed exasperatedly.

Chan stared at the floor before locking his gaze with Minho, “I...as much as it is hard to admit it… I need you, Minho.”

The room was suddenly filled with silence, the only sound Minho could hear was the sound of Chan's heart picking up pace and his own breathing. Minho was so close to Chan and he could count the eyelashes on his eyelids. He smiled before leaning down closer.

“Good enough for me.” Minho whispered and he pressed his lips against Chan’s, _finally,_ kissing him softly. Chan hesitated at first but slowly started kissing him back. Minho’s lips made slow, deliberate movements against Chan’s but slowly picked up pace, and he pressed Chan against the wall as he continued to kiss him. The feel of Chan’s lips against his was soft and warm, and was better than the countless number of times he had imagined kissing him.

Minho pulled away slowly, studying Chan, who had his eyes tightly shut. The man opened his eyes slowly, staring at him through hooded eyes, as if he was asking him why Minho stopped kissing him.

Before Minho could step back, Chan pulled him in closer by the collar of shirt, kissing him again and that was more than enough for Minho, and he allowed his guard to fall, one of his hands wrapping around Chan’s waist and pulling him in close while the other hand moved up, grasping the back of his neck.

Chan flung his arms around Minho, one hand grabbing and holding onto his hair, as he opened his mouth willingly, allowing Minho to taste him and deepen the kiss.

Chan tasted so good, and Minho embraced the butterflies in his stomach, the sensation spreading deep from the pits of his stomach, spreading to his fingertips and toes and he felt elated. It was incredible how a kiss could make him feel like this, like it was too much for him to handle. He was starting to think what he felt for Chan went way beyond a simple crush.

Chan let out a moan against his lips and Minho could feel himself get hard against his wishes. He pulled away from Chan once again, breathing heavily, “Chan...I don’t think I can control myself if we continue.”

Chan’s lips were hovering over his, brushing against them softly as he trailed them over his cheeks and to his ear, whispering, “but I need you, hyung.”

The effect was immediate and Minho gave in completely, kissing Chan over and over again as the man tried to guide them to his bedroom, which was on the far end of the apartment. The heat of the kiss was sending sharp strokes of pleasure up Minho’s body and he started unbuttoning Chan’s shirt, removing it and throwing it to the floor before pressing him onto the bed. Minho moved down, and started biting at a spot near Chan’s neck, colouring it red as the man bit hard on his lips, trying to stay quiet. Chan tugged at Minho’s shirt, unbuttoning them and pulling it off, gasping quietly when Minho kissed a line from his jawline to his mouth. 

“Minho" Chan moaned as he felt up his biceps, "Oh my gosh, you are so hot.”

They continued to shed their pants and boxes until they were both naked and Minho broke away from the kiss, “Lube? Condoms?” Chan gestured towards the dressing table by the side and Minho opened the drawer and took out the bottle and the foil packet. Minho coated his fingers with lube before inserting a finger into Chan, whose breath was coming out in uneven pants punctuated by soft moans and eyes tightly shut. It made Minho even more hard, to see the man underneath him falling apart as he fingered him open.

It was still hard to believe that this was actually happening. Chan, looking more beautiful than ever, lying naked on the bed, trying his best to not be loud as Minho wrapped his dick with the plastic sheathe before lining up and pushing in slowly. Chan’s hands were clinging onto Minho’s back, his blunt nails digging in and sending sharp pains of pleasure up Minho’s spine before the younger man moved one hand up and gripped tightly onto Minho’s long strands. Chan wrapped his legs around Minho, opening himself up more, allowing Minho to penetrate him deeper. As Minho thrusted in and out of the warm, tight heat, he realised that Chan was having difficulties remaining silent, and so he wiped his fingers on the sheets before filling Chan’s mouth with them, muffling the noises. 

The image of Chan sucking on his fingers while he pounded into him, was too much for Minho and he increased his pace, slamming into him, before removing his fingers from the younger man’s mouth and wrapping them around his dick. He stroked Chan’s dick as he leaned down and caught his lips, swallowing up his moans and mewls and Chan bit hard on his lips as his orgasm tore through him, making him shudder violently. He clenched tightly around Minho’s dick causing him to reach his orgasm soon after that. Minho pulled out slowly, getting up from the bed and discarding the condom before climbing on to the bed again.

“Stay the night.” Chan mumbled, and the look of happiness on Chan’s sated face was so genuine, it made Minho happy too and he fell asleep a few seconds right after.

The next morning, Minho woke up, feeling extremely happy and it took him a while to recollect the events of the previous night. He turned onto his side and sure enough, Chan was there, still sleeping. He sat up on his bed, stretching his arms, feeling them crack. Chan stirred on the bed, muttering something intelligible before snuggling into the teacher's side. Minho chuckled as he wrapped an arm around Chan, gently caressing his hair as the man opened his eyes, and looked up at him blearily. 

“Did you sleep well?” Chan asked groggily.

Minho nodded his head, grinning at him, “Best sleep ever.”

Chan smiled before picking his phone up and checking the time. “Oh shit, I am late, I have to drop Felix before I go to work at the bar.”

Minho watched as the man scrambled out of the bed, pulling his boxers on and throwing his discarded shirt on before opening his wardrobe.

“It is Sunday…” Minho said, trying to ignore the way Chan looked so delectable with just the shirt on.

“Yeah, I took an off yesterday since it was my birthday, so today is my replacement shift.” Chan explained.

“If you want…” Minho started speaking as Chan pulled out a shirt and pants, “I could take care of Felix? Then you don’t have to go drop him and go to work. Won’t that save you some time?”

“It is just easier for us if I drop him at Hyunjin’s place, he got half his toys there and half of my stuff is there as well and I could sleepover whenever.” He said absentmindedly, grabbing his towel.

There it was again.

Minho knew Chan mentioned that he slept over during the weekends at Hyunjin’s place, but the fact that he wouldn’t allow him to take care of Felix instead or the fact that half of his things were over at Hyunjin’s place was nagging at him. Now, more so than ever.

“So, you just sleepover at his place?” He tried to be nonchalant, he really did, but his tone came out cold and Chan picked up on it as he turned around.

“You okay, Minho?”

Minho hesitated, not knowing how to ask the following question, whether he should ask at all, but he went ahead and asked him, “What is up between Hyunjin and you.”

Chan stared at him, bewildered and Minho watched as two pink spots appeared high up on his cheeks as he snapped back, “I sleep over at his place, I don’t sleep with him.”

“You depend on him awfully a lot for someone who doesn’t like getting favours.” Minho said before he could stop himself, and he realised it came out wrong and wished he could take it back.

Chan stilled in his steps, his hands shaking, “So what do you think, Minho?” He paused as he struggled to keep his anger at bay, “I sleep with him, and in return, as a favour he takes care of Felix. Is that what you are suggesting.”

“Chan….no.”

"That was what you were implying, and now I slept with you, so what does this make me? A whore?" Chan bit back sharply.

"Can you just fucking stop overthinking everything?" Minho snapped at him angrily and Chan took a step back.

The anger in Chan's face transitioned into sorrow and the man once again looked lost and small and Minho felt so helpless as all he wanted to do was to pull Chan into his arms and embrace him.

“I think you should leave.” Chan said in a small voice, and Minho felt all the happiness that was there from earlier, float out of him like a balloon deflating.

He got up and put on his clothes slowly. 

“You know Chan, I care about Felix too, a lot. I think you need to first understand that.” He said steely, looking into Chan’s eyes. “All I want is for you to trust me, let me in.”

“I think I know how to take care of my brother, thank you very much.” Chan mumbled grimly.

“There it is again, your defense mechanism. I didn’t say you don’t know how to take care of your brother, all I am saying is you could trust me.” Minho said, his tone vexed, his anger rising to the surface.

“I have come so far, trusting no one except my close friends. Are you going to magically swoop in and fix our lives?” Chan challenged indignantly, his voice rising too.

Minho pulled on his hair strands, groaning in irritation, “I thought I was different Chan.”

“I thought you were different too, but then you are here implying I need to give people sexual favours in order for them to take care of my brother.” Chan exploded at him.

“I did _not_ mean that. This is just another excuse for you to push me away, once again." Minho retorted, "How many times are you going to keep doing this Chan? Until you actually end up alone?"

Before Chan could say anything, a cry came out from the next room.

It was Felix.

Chan breathed heavily, his chest lifting up and down, as he tried not to fall apart.

“Chan…” Minho trailed off, his anger dissipating into guilt. 

“Just go, Minho.” Chan whispered and Minho swallowed down his emotions as he exited the room. As Minho reached the door of the apartment, he turned around and took a good look at Chan, standing outside the room, leaning against the wall, pressing his hands against his eyes, trying hard to push back at the tears and heading off towards Felix’s room.

The following days were back to Chan ignoring Minho. It was as if nothing good could ever happen to him.

“What happened after we all left?” Seungmin asked on Monday morning as they sat together for lunch. 

“Well...we had sex.” Minho muttered. Changbin wanted to hear the details too so Seungmin had Facetimed him and Minho could hear Changbin cheering out loud saying that it was about time.

Seungmin however, caught up on the energy, and told Changbin to be quiet before asking Minho, “Is everything alright Minho? I thought you would be more excited about having finally fucked your crush.”

Minho filled in on what happened the next morning and both Seungmin and Changbin sighed.

“Minho…”

“I know I screwed up okay? But it is frustrating when he tries so hard to build a barricade between us.” Minho said sharply.

“I know that…” Seungmin said softly, resting a hand on Minho’s, “He needs time though and Hyunjin is someone he had been really close to for a longer while."

"This isn't only about Hyunjin, it is about Chan pushing me away every opportunity he gets and it makes me feel like a fool for trying and trying when he probably doesn't even like me." Minho explained, hurt seeping into his tone.

I think Chan really likes you though, Minho.” Changbin mentioned.

“Well...I don’t think he does anymore.” Minho sighed heavily as he got up to leave.

As he had expected, Chan did not come in to pick Felix up that day. It was Hyunjin and the man had a few things to say to him as he took a chair and dragged it across the room.

“Hey Minho.” Hyunjin greeted.

Minho just nodded as he packed his things up.

“You are an idiot, do you know that?” Hyunjin asked as Minho glared at him.

“No, seriously. How could you even feel threatened about us when all Chan could ever talk about other than Felix was you?” Hyunjin continued, his hand coming up to brush his blonde hair back. Minho didn’t answer so Hyunjin let out a sigh before continuing, “Look, I am going to tell Chan, that he can’t keep running away from confrontations, and from tomorrow it is going to be him who would come to pick Felix up, but you have to understand, it is difficult for Chan to trust people.” Hyunjin paused for a second as he looked at Felix who was scribbling away on the paper. “He likes you and he trusts you, but it is hard for him to say it.” Hyunjin got up from the chair, calling out to Felix, “Anyways I just thought I should tell you that since you both are being so difficult.” 

Hyunjin was almost at the door when Minho cleared his throat, calling his name out. The blonde turned to look at him questioningly.

“Thank you.” Minho said.

Hyunjin smiled before waving at him, “It is going to be fine.”

It wasn’t though. Chan did come in the next day, but he would quickly pick Felix up and rush out before Minho could get a word in.

Sometimes, Felix would scream, saying that he wanted to travel in Mr. Lee’s car but Chan would just hush him before walking out. This happened for the entire week, until one day Minho stood in front of Chan, preventing him from leaving.

“Are you not even going to talk to me?” Minho asked.

Chan stared at the ground as Felix eyed them both nervously.

“Are you really going to throw away everything we had the last few weeks because you are too scared?” Minho continued, his tone laced with desperation.

Chan remained silent, before side stepping Minho and leaving. The last thing Minho heard was Felix crying and sobbing, telling Chan that he wanted to play with Mr. Lee.

* * *

For Chan, life had been monotonous ever since his father left him, leaving him to fend for Felix alone. It was something he had been mostly doing ever since his mother passed away, but at least they were still getting some money, and that stopped when his father left. The lack of money threw them into a disadvantage. Chan struggled a lot in the beginning, not knowing how to explain to Felix that their dad was never coming back or telling him that he would never be able to buy his favourite toys because hyung could not afford them. It was difficult but Chan managed to get another part time job and juggled both jobs together. The money was just enough to pay rent, and for Felix’s education and food, but it caused him so much pain whenever he had to say no to Felix’s request or wishes for another toy.

Chan had always been thankful to his friends, who would babysit Felix whenever he had odd hours and even came over to his place multiple times, to do chores or cook for him. He had always been the closest to Hyunjin, and was so grateful when the blonde allowed Chan to stay over the weekends, making it easier for both Felix and Chan. Also since, Hyunjin's place was closer to the bar, Chan would be less tired and he was able to spend more time with his brother. This became a stable routine and something that Chan gradually became used to.

Until, there was a new teacher in Felix’s class. There had always been something about the teacher that caught Chan’s attention, the man was extremely good looking but there was always a sparkle in his eye. When Minho had pissed him off the first time, mentioning the social work team, Chan had been mad at him, brushing him off and leaving. Later that day, when Chan explained to Hyunjin what had happened and requested him to pick up Felix instead, Hyunjin had laughed.

“That teacher is so good looking, and he looked hurt to see me, instead of you.” Hyunjin teased as he swallowed a spoonful of rice. He had come by Chan’s apartment to drop Felix off and had stayed for dinner. “Are you really going to avoid him forever?”

“I am not avoiding him, I just can’t stand him.” Chan mumbled as he set Felix’s food down at the table.

“Chan...please, I have known you for so long.” Hyunjin said firmly.

“Listen, I don’t like it when people try to tell me how to take care of my own brother.” Chan said, anger rising up in his tone.

“I know that very well, but maybe he was just telling out of the goodness of his heart, stop assuming the worst, Channie.” Hyunjin sighed.

Chan ignored him, trying to steer the topic into a different direction as his best friend smiled sadly at him.

Minho would always offer help and Chan would shoot each and every one of them down, not wanting any of his pity. He got that a lot. Every time anyone came to know that Chan and Felix didn’t have any parents, their eyes would drop down, and their tones would change to that of pity and Chan was so tired of it.

The day Minho confronted him at the bar, something changed between them. Chan could feel that Minho was about to kiss him, and he was _anticipating_ it, the kiss that never came thanks to one of Minho’s friends interrupting them. He didn’t know why he was feeling disappointed. He could not allow himself to care about another human that was not Felix, not at this point in his life.

Chan knew he was scared, somehow he started allowing Minho to do things for him, _for them._ He found himself going to dinners with the man, and found himself smiling whenever Minho would take care of Felix. Whenever Minho would walk beside him, their arms brushing past each other, Chan would try not to gasp as he would feel the electricity shooting up and down his arm. It terrified him. He did not have time for relationships or dating but Minho was like an addiction and Chan loved to see him every day, enjoyed each and every dinner outing with him and weirdly enough, he started feeling the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach, whenever the man so much as smiled at him.

_And it scared him._

Chan built up barricades around himself when his father left, knowing that he can’t let himself trust anyone, or depend on anyone. It was his fault that he depended on his father and was thrown into a loop after his exit. When he found himself catching feelings for the teacher, he knew he was treading on dangerous waters and had to retreat. He tried to hold himself back, and he knew that Minho had caught up on it, but Felix was already so attached to the teacher.

When Chan had broken down and Minho had comforted him in the confines of his home, he craved for the older man’s touch more. It was a foreign feeling, and for the first time in so long, Chan felt happy when he spent the night with Minho, and realised he was probably too far in at this point to back away. It was just unfortunate, when Minho hurt his feelings the next day, his guards came back up quickly, and he knew he should have never trusted anyone in the first place. 

Chan also knew he was to be blamed as well but he was exhausted as it is and just wanted things to go back to how it was, which was him caring only about Felix.

“Chan, how long are you going to do this?” Hyunjin sighed when Chan came over late at night, having finished his bartending shift.

“I told you I am going to leave the job in two months, once I am more stable financially.” Chan huffed as he changed into more comfortable clothes.

“I was not asking about that.” Hyunjin said, before continuing, “How long are you going to keep depriving yourself of happiness?”

“I don’t know what you mean, Jinnie.”

“Chan, I have known you for so long, and you were finally happy with Minho, why did you push him away?” Hyunjin asked, quipping his eyebrow at him.

“Hyunjin...stop.” Chan sighed, his heart clenching at the mention of the teacher’s name.

"You miss him, don't you?" Hyunjin stated.

"It doesn't matter." Chan croaked, trying to keep his voice steady.

“No, it _does_ matter and you listen first Channie, if he had concerns about us being close, it was fine, you just had to explain to him, but you completely threw him away and I don’t think Minho deserved that.” Hyunjin trailed off as he placed a hand on Chan’s shoulder, squeezing it, “It is time you start thinking about yourself too, you are already the best brother anyone could have, so now let someone take care of you.”

Chan pressed his lips together in a thin line, his mind whirring with thoughts. The next morning when they were back home, Chan was busy cooking with Felix drawing happily onto the notebook Jisung had gotten for him, with coloured crayons. As Chan set the food on the table, his eyes caught sight of the drawing and he stilled in his steps.

It was a house with three stick figures standing in front of it. One of the stick figures was shorter than the other two and Chan assumed that was Felix but he felt like his body was doused in cold water when he realised Felix had written ‘hyung’ above one of the stick figures and ‘Mr Lee’ on the other.

“Felix...what are you drawing?” Chan asked, trying to swallow the knot at his throat.

“It is called a happy family.” Felix announced brightly before picking the paper up and showing Chan. 

Before Chan could explain that Mr. Lee was in no way a part of the happy family, there was a ring at the door and Chan went to open it. 

There was a person standing there, with a clipboard in his arms.

“Mr. Chan?” The man asked as Chan nodded.

“There is a package for you, happy birthday!” 

Chan stared in curiosity as the man took a step back, revealing the gift and at that moment, Chan just gaped at it.

“Who is this from?” Chan asked the man, who looked down at his clipboard before answering, “Mr. Lee Minho.”

* * *

This was by far the worst week, and for the first time in a while, Minho welcomed the weekend, so he could just rest and soothe down his thoughts.

It was pouring outside and the weather suited his mood as he poured himself a cup of tea, taking a sip.

Just then, his phone started vibrating against the desk and Minho answered it without looking at who was calling.

There was a lot of background noise but Minho recognised the voice immediately.

“Come down.” Chan demanded.

Minho was confused, the man had ignored him completely the past week and now he was calling him to come down? He got up and looked out the window and he could see a small figure, standing out in the rain, his arms buried deep into his jacket pockets.

It couldn’t be.

Minho quickly threw on a jacket and slippers and headed down. As he got out of the elevators and walked towards the figure, he realised that it was indeed Chan, standing out in the pouring rain, getting drenched to his bone.

“Jesus, Chan. What are you doing here?” Minho shouted over the pouring rain.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Chan bellowed back.

“Well come in, I will give you something warm to change to and we can talk.”

Chan shook his head stubbornly. “No, Come here first.” He pleaded.

Minho took a step out into the pouring rain, feeling himself get drenched immediately, “What the fuck is happening here?” The older man yelled, “How did you even find my address?”

“I asked Seungmin and he told me.”

“You are going to catch a cold, let’s go up.” Minho suggested as he started to turn.

“I got the gift.” Chan said, making him stop mid-turn.

“What?”

“I got my birthday gift, the batman automobile car. The one I had been looking for everywhere, wanting to get it for Lixie.” Chan shouted, his voice shaky.

“I hope you liked it.” Minho shrugged.

“Minho...you listened to me, you heard me and you got me something that would make my brother happy, whose happiness is what makes me feel the happiest.” Chan whispered, the wind carrying his voice over and loose wet strands of his hair falling into his eyes.

“I...yeah…” Minho said, crinkling his eyebrows together, “Why are you here and where is Felix.”

“I dropped Felix with my friends, I had to talk to you alone.”

“Everything okay? Minho asked casually, still not understanding what Chan was doing here, getting them both drenched in the rain.

“Why are you so nice to me?” Chan blurted out.

“Why do you think so, Chan?” Minho asked, sleeking his hair back.

“I don’t know…” Chan continued, his voice quivering as he continued, “I kept pushing you away and yet you kept trying, why don’t you just give up?”

Minho rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up as he took a good look at Chan. He doubted that this was about the gift, there was something more behind those words. “You know very well why I try, you know exactly why I got you something that would make Felix more happy. You had just been way too oblivious.” He said calmly.

Chan took a step closer to Minho, “Yeah, you care about us. Is that right? You did all of this because you care.”

“I think you know that this goes way beyond me just caring, Chan.” Minho said, his heart thumping violently against his chest, the words he wanted to say were at the tip of his tongue, threatening to fall out.

“What is it?” Chan asked, looking away for a moment before catching Minho’s gaze again, his hand coming up to wipe away the rain from his eyes.

Minho licked his lips nervously as he shook his head. “This is not fair.” He muttered as he looked away. “You really can’t be standing there, asking me to tell you what I feel for you when I had been so obvious all these days.”

“You really expect me to believe a teacher, who barely even knew me, is suddenly interested in me? Someone who is willing to accept me, a burden, along with my added baggage?” Chan sniffled, his teeth clattering from the cold, “Can’t you see how unrealistic that sounds? Why do you keep doing all these things for us, even though I told you to stop.”

“Channie…” Minho whispered, “My feelings for you had always been out in the open.” He paused for a minute, taking a deep breath in, knowing that it was never just a simple crush on the younger man, it went beyond that. Somehow, somewhere he had fallen for him, deeply and he knew he had to say it now. 

“I am in love with you.”

Time stopped for a minute at that instant, with Chan just staring at Minho, his mouth slightly open, voice failing him. The rain was now pouring in torrents, and there was a flash of lightning followed by the low rumble of a thunder.

“I don’t think I can do this.” Chan whispered as he took a step back and Minho closed the distance between them in two long steps, grabbing onto Chan’s hand.

“Stop it.” Minho demanded, “Stop constantly running away from me or your feelings.”

Chan tried to push Minho away, failing. “I am not running away from anything.”

“Why the fuck are you here, Chan?” Minho spat, the frustration imminent in his tone. “You went through the struggles of contacting Seungmin, finding my address, coming all the way here just to rip out a confession from me and then run away?”

“Stop it Minho.” Chan whispered and his voice was shaking.

“I know you are scared, but I love you, and there is no way you are just here to shout at me for getting you a gift.” Minho bellowed over the gushing rain, his expression serious.

“I really don’t know, okay! I don’t know.” Chan argued, trying to pull his arm away from Minho’s iron grip.

“I think you do, Channie.” Minho said, taking another step until he could feel Chan’s chest pressed against his, and he placed his hand on Chan’s cheek. “No one would be shouting at someone, in the middle of a storm if they didn’t know.”

“Fuck off, you don’t know m-”

The next few words were lost as Minho pressed his lips against Chan’s, interrupting him.

Chan’s lips were soft and warm, despite the cold rain and Minho continued to kiss him until, slowly, Chan started kissing him back. Minho tilted his head, deepening the kiss as Chan moved his arms up slowly, wrapping them around Minho and pulling him into an embrace. The instant connection they had was too strong, with sparks flying everywhere and Minho wanted Chan to _see_ and to _feel_ this connection and finally accept his feelings. There was warmth growing in the pits of Minho’s stomach and he felt the sensation soar through his entire body as he continued to kiss Chan, one hand on his cheek, still slowly caressing him, while the other hand was on his waist, his thumb tracing circles into them. As Minho tried to pull away from the kiss, Chan didn’t allow him, proceeding to kiss him with more desperation, trying to pour in his feelings, the words he could feel but couldn’t say, and Minho understood.

Chan pulled away, trying to catch his breath, as the rain continued pouring down around them, the water dripping from his eyelashes, making him look even more beautiful.

“Now, can you please come inside with me so you could change into something warmer?” Minho asked as Chan laughed nervously, nodding after a while.

Minho held onto Chan’s hand gently, guiding him back to the apartment, away from the rain, and into the warmth of his home. Once they were in, Chan stood near the door, shivering, feeling the coldness hit him.

“I will go get something for you, and then I will make some hot tea.” Minho said, smiling at him before disappearing into his bedroom. Chan looked around the house, it was well furnished, and neat and he smiled as he found a picture of Minho from when he was much younger, around Felix’s age, framed on one of the tables. 

Minho came out of his room, holding out a pair of pants and a loose shirt, along with a towel.

"The bathroom is over there, go take a warm shower first." Minho advised.

Chan took the clothes and headed over to the direction Minho was pointing at. He was dripping water all over and was cringing at the inconvenience.

The shower helped Chan collect his thoughts, as he allowed the warm water to soothe down his nerves and pondered over what just happened. 

Minho had confessed to him.

_Minho loves him._

It should not be a surprise, especially since the man had been nothing but nice to him from the beginning. Chan knew he was being difficult and that he too, have feelings for the other man, feelings that he could not explain and could not wrap his mind around it, and it made him feel guilty.

Once Chan stepped out of the shower and dried himself, he quickly dressed up and went out.

Minho was at the kitchen, already changed into warm clothes, his hair swept back, with loose strands of hair falling messily into his eyes, making him look even more handsome.

“Once again, thank you.” Chan whispered and Minho looked up, grinning at him.

“Stop thanking me Chan, next time please don’t have confrontations in the rain.” He said, chuckling.

Minho set two cups of hot tea on the table and gestured at Chan to take a seat at the couch.

“Minho…” Chan hesitated, not knowing where to start, “Thank you so much for the birthday gift, for caring not only about me but about Felix.” He said. "It really meant a lot."

Minho placed a hand gently on Chan’s knee, “Don’t thank me, Channie...Did Felix like it?”

Chan’s eyes shone brightly with happiness as he nodded, “Felix loved it! He was driving it around just like how I used to do when I was his age.” He smiled warmly before continuing, “He cried when I had to drag him away to drop him over at Jeongin’s before coming here.”

Minho could imagine the child sitting on the floor and wailing, and being stubborn while Chan tried his best to console him. “I am glad.” Minho said.

“I have been so difficult, haven’t I?” Chan breathed, his hand moving to rest on Minho’s.

“No, you have just been through a lot.” Minho stated.

Chan chuckled, “You are so understanding. Felix was right, you are the bestest teacher.”

Minho didn’t know what came over him, but he pulled Chan in by his neck, capturing his lips with his own, encasing them in warmth, kissing him softly before letting him go.

“Sorry, you are just so irresistible.” Minho admitted as Chan stared at him wide eyed.

Chan left after finishing his tea, saying that he had to rescue Jeongin from Felix but had promised to meet Minho the next day, which was still an improvement. 

One step forward.

* * *

They met at a park. Chan was already there with Felix, crouching next to him and pointing up at a blue coloured bird that was perched on a branch. Minho cleared his throat once he neared them and Chan turned back quickly, smiling brightly when he saw it was Minho.

“Hey.” Chan greeted.

Before Minho could reply, Felix had thrown himself onto Minho shouting that he loved him and missed him and Minho lifted him up, spinning him around before putting him down as Felix burst into a fit of giggles.

There were a lot of flowers everywhere. Chan and Minho were walking beside each other, their arms brushing, following after Felix who was running and staring at all the flowers.

Felix turned around and came running to them, “Mr. Lee, I want ice cream.”

“I don’t think your hyung would approve of that, Lixie.” Minho mentioned.

Felix’s lips turned into a pout and Minho knew he lost the battle, “Okay fine, come here, let’s get you some ice cream.”

Chan stared at him incredulously while Minho shrugged, “I am soft okay.” He retorted as Chan started laughing.

Once Minho was done buying ice cream for both Felix and themselves, they sat at a bench near the playground. Felix hurried over to the slides as soon as he finished his ice cream, going down it and laughing out loud. Minho watched him, with a huge grin as Felix started playing around.

“You really do care about him…” Chan said softly, and Minho turned to see that Chan had been observing him.

“Yes, I told you, I care about Felix.” Minho stated.

They continued to watch Felix who was now near the swings, telling a girl to get down so he could get on it. The girl refused and Felix was now holding on to the swing, not allowing her to play.

“Uh oh…” Minho muttered.

“I will go get him back.” Chan sighed, as he tried to get up.

“No, stay here, I will go get him.” Minho insisted, as he stood up and rushed over to Felix.

Chan watched as Minho tried to pull Felix away gently from the swing but the kid clung onto it and the look of exasperation on Minho’s face when Felix wouldn't let go, made Chan laugh. 

The smile faded away though when he saw a woman run up to the swing, apologising and making the child get down from the swing, for Felix to sit on it. Chan watched as the woman made conversation with Minho, and they started laughing at something, the empty swing left long forgotten while Felix and the other girl got distracted by something else.

Chan waited for Minho to come back but the man was still standing near the swings and now the woman patted him on the arm, smiling at him and Chan found his blood boiling. The sudden surge of emotions that went through him was so intense and all he wanted was Minho back next to him. He continued to watch as Minho took his phone out and Chan assumed that he was taking down her number. He looked away quickly when Minho turned and started heading back to him.

“So, Felix found something else to do.” Minho said, blissfully unaware.

“Apparently, so did you.” Chan muttered under his breath but Minho caught the words.

“What?”

“The woman.” Chan grumbled, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone and failing.

“Chan…” Minho began, “Are you jealous?” 

“What?” Chan exclaimed, “No, I am not.”

“Chan, it is okay to be jealous, makes me feel happy.” Minho said gleefully.

“Whatever, you looked like you were having a good time with that woman, why did you come back?” Chan asked pettily.

Minho laughed as he stared at Chan, “Actually she was just talking about how she bakes customised cakes, and I took her number down because I thought it could come in handy one day for us, for like Felix’s birthday or something.”

_Oh._

“I was not jealous.” Chan claimed.

“Sure.” Minho smiled teasingly.

They proceeded to head over to the lake which was a beautiful shade of deep blue, to eat the lunch Chan had packed for them and Felix was exclaiming loudly, feeling fascinated with the water. 

Felix sat on Minho’s lap chewing on a corner of the sandwich and it was all too domestic, Chan thought. Once Felix was done, he had lied down on Minho and dozed off. Minho ran his hand through the little boy's soft hair, massaging his scalp.

Chan found his heartbeat escalating rapidly and he knew at that moment what he wanted. This whole day proved that it was okay to accept another person into his life. He liked this, he enjoyed this and he wanted _this_ to be a permanent thing. He glanced towards the side, observing Minho. The man who just appeared out of nowhere and had stubbornly fixated himself into his life. The urge to scream was bubbling inside Chan and he wanted to scream, to let all his locked emotions out.

_Minho loves him._

He said it the previous day, and what about Chan?

“You know, I can practically hear your mind whirring from here.” Minho hummed softly.

Chan nibbled on his bottom lip nervously, looking away, “I was thinking about you.”

Minho looked at him inquiringly as Chan caught his gaze.

“Minho, you are the best thing to happen to us in so long.” Chan finally said, dipping his head down, feeling the heat crawl up his face.

Minho felt like he was floating on air at those words, and watched as Chan inhaled a deep breath in before continuing, “Felix is my _home_ , my everything. But I see how you take care of Felix, _and me_ and I know I can’t stop avoiding what my heart had been trying to tell me all this while.”

“What are you trying to say, Channie?” Minho asked as he tried to keep his breathing steady.

“You were right, I knew what I was feeling for you, but I was just scared.” Chan paused as he looked at Felix napping peacefully on Minho’s lap and he looked away before catching Minho’s eyes again.

Chan never thought he was capable of letting anyone else in his life, was frustrated when Minho wouldn't give up on them but secretly glad that the man never stopped trying. Chan never expected that he would actually catch feelings for someone but here he was about to tell the man before him, what he actually felt for him, the three words that he should have said but didn't because he was scared. Chan took a deep breath in, exhaling slowly as he stared into those eyes that had made him feel safe.

“I love you, Minho.”

Minho stared at him, emotions flickering through his eyes as it finally registered in him mind that Chan really did say those words.

“Chan…” Minho breathed, words failing him.

“I love you and I need you in my life, Minho.” Chan repeated, more firm this time.

Minho leaned closer, his hand reaching out to hold Chan’s chin gently and kissed him softly, relishing in the way their lips moved against each other perfectly. “I love you, Channie.” Minho whispered between kisses, “I promise, I will take care of you and Felix.”

They broke away from the kiss and met each other’s eyes, and Chan could see how Minho looked at him like he meant the whole world to him and he knew that Minho had somehow become a part of the happy family, just like in Felix’s drawing. Everything was going to be okay now.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, that was the end and I hope it was okaay :((  
> Sorry if it was disappointing! Also, I actually enjoyed writing sweetheart Minho ;;  
> Anyways, Minchan soulmates!!! I screamed when Minho ended up choosing Chan!!! these two seriously please *wipes away tears*  
> Anyways back to this, thank you for reading and if you enjoyed it, I am grateful...if you didn't then welps I hope I would do a better job next time <3  
> The world needs more minchan fics seriously.  
> Happy Minchantober everyone!! I hope I can write more for this month especially! Or be more confident about writing...*cries*  
> Again, all your comments and kudos are appreciated <3


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